How Do You Tell if Your Dog is Pregnant

Having puppies can be really exciting, and it can be a great time to learn and share new things about puppies with your family, especially if you have children. However, the first step, knowing whether or not your dog is pregnant, can be difficult. There are some sure fire ways to tell if your dog is pregnant, so make sure that you know them so you can start preparing right away!

First of all, if you see your dog mate with a male dog, chances are pretty good that she’s pregnant. If she’s older than 6 or 7 years, or if she’s younger than a year and half, she might not get pregnant, but if she’s within the ages of 2 to 5, and you see her mate, she’s probably going to have a litter. Remember that mating requires a tie, meaning that your dog will be tied to the male dog for about 10 minutes or even longer. If this happens, you can expect a litter, usually within 60-70 days.

If you don’t see your dog mate with a male, but you know that she was in heat and was somewhere a male could have gotten to her, there are several signs that you can watch for in the weeks to come. Your dog might get a little bit sick at first, the doggie equivalent to morning sickness. She also will start to get more cuddly and love-y with her family, and more aggressive and territorial with other dogs. In the coming weeks, she’ll start to look for places to have her litter, and will be nest-building in places as well. These are all behavioral signs that you can watch for, but the best signs are going to be the physical ones.

First of all, your dog probably won’t get any bigger until the second month of her pregnancy. But within the first few weeks you should begin to see that her nipples are bigger and they will continue to get bigger as she gets read to give birth. In the second month, she will begin to expand. You’ll be able to see her get bigger at her ribs first, so watch for her ribs to expand. As she nears the end of her pregnancy, her stomach will start to get bigger too.

As she starts to get ready to deliver her puppies, you will be able to see a noticeable change in her. She will not want to be away from you, and will continue to dig and make nests in her kennel or bed. She will also be aggressive with other dogs and continue to be very loving with her owners. Right before she gives birth, her temperature will drop, and she will probably refuse food. That is how you know it is time to move her to the birthing areas.